Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its investment in Centene Corporation by 21.9% during the first quarter, owning 587,155 shares worth approximately $35.6 million after selling 165,094 shares.
• Equities analysts have decreased their price targets for Centene, with JPMorgan lowering their target from $48 to $30 and giving a "neutral" rating, while Bank of America downgraded its rating to "underperform" with a target of $30.
• Centene's latest earnings report showed a loss of ($0.16) EPS, missing estimates, despite a 22.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $48.74 billion for the quarter.

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 587,155 shares of the company's stock after selling 165,094 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.12% of Centene worth $35,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Centene in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 180.7% in the first quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 388,385 shares of the company's stock worth $23,579,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Centene by 78.8% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 4,374 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,761,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 8.0%

Shares of CNC traded up $2.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.14. 22,440,620 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,588,356. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $28.78 and its 200-day moving average is $48.37. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $77.29.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Centene from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America cut Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.93.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.